Rocket Man (Astronomer and Engineer)

Published: Oct. 15, 2020, 5 a.m.

b"We chat with Nick Howes about his incredibly varied career, a mixture of Astronomy, Music and Engineering. Nick has had numerous and extremely cool jobs ranging from working for the european space agency in holland to working on the square kilometre array which was at the time the biggest science project on earth, to working at Yamaha's research and development team for sixteen years building synthesisers and instruments. Nick currently works at BMT researching and developing new technologies in the space engineering sector. Nick has been lucky enough to meet and become friends with some of the Apollo astronauts at events he has either attended or organised, i think he probably has one of the coolest contact books going having the likes of Buzz Aldrin on speed dial! Nick was also responsible for hunting and possibly finding the Lunar ten module snoopy. We discuss Exploration and how it seems to be hardwired into our DNA, just like our ancestors the modern day astronauts are willing and ready to undertake future missions to the moon and mars, we just need to figure out how we are going to get them there, from future propulsion methods such as Ion engines to Nuclear fission and fusion reactors to provide energy for the journey as well as thinking about the mental impact of being confined to a small vehicle for years at a time. We also talk about the importance of having great scientific communicators such as Brian Cox, Bill Nye and Neil Degrasse Tyson in the public eye, teaching and conveying the knowledge of the science community in a way that engages and excites the general public. Nick is incredibly passionate about science and furthering our ability to explore space, if you are a bit of a science or engineering geek like myself and Jules, this is a must listen. (we also give you a great argument to use on your boss next time you want to work from home)"